HTX-LHK: Impact 9/5/2025

Check out what's happening in the Lake Houston area this weekend, Sept. 5-7. 

Movie at the Library: Enjoy a family movie screening of “Zootopia” at the Octavia Fields Branch Library. Popcorn will be provided.

• Sept. 5, 3-5 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• 1503 S. Houston Ave., Humble

• Sept. 6-7, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• Town Center Park, 8 N. Main St., Kingwood

Fur-Vana Mobile Pet Spa is now fully operational, offering mobile grooming services for dogs and cats. 

A new chapter: The business soft-launched in October, and the owner previously operated a brick-and-mortar grooming store, which they closed July 19.

What they offer: Fur-Vana offers curbside services at customers’ homes in East Montgomery County as well as in the Lake Houston area. The mobile grooming company accepts dogs, cats, puppies and kittens.

• Opened July 19
• Service area includes East Montgomery County and the Lake Houston area 

After serving more than a year as Harris County Public Health’s interim director, Leah Barton was officially appointed to lead the county’s public health department.

Quote of note: “Over the past year, I’ve had the great privilege of leading Harris County Public Health,” Barton said in a Sept. 2 news release. “During that time, we have opened new health hubs, expanded mobile care, strengthened support for families, and responded to public health challenges across our community. These efforts reflect our shared commitment to making health services more accessible, connected, and responsive to the needs of the people we serve.”

Zooming out: Barton was first tapped to serve in the interim role in 2024 after former HCPH Executive Director Barbie Robinson was removed from her position last August.

Tomball Fire Station No. 5 is now home to Harris County’s first Safe Haven Baby Box, giving parents in crisis a safe and anonymous option to surrender their newborns, founder Monica Kelsey said.

The details: The baby box was dedicated Sept. 2 in partnership with Tomball Fire Rescue, Harris County Emergency Services District No. 15, the city of Tomball and community leaders, including St. Anne Catholic Church and the Cotton Foundation, which funded the installation.

Under Texas’ Safe Haven law, parents may legally surrender infants up to 60 days old at designated facilities. The new baby box—installed in an exterior wall of the fire station—locks automatically once a newborn is placed inside and alerts staff through interior sensors, ensuring immediate care, according to the Safe Haven Baby Box website.

Why it matters: The baby box is the 374th Safe Haven Baby Box in the U.S. and the 12th in Texas, Kelsey, who was herself abandoned at birth and has since championed the program nationwide, said.

Around 1 a.m. Sept. 4, the Texas Legislature gaveled out of its second special session of the year. On the heels of a two-week Democratic walkout that stymied bills during a previous legislative overtime, lawmakers moved quickly to pass 16 of Gov. Greg Abbott’s 24 priorities in under three weeks.

The details: A long-debated plan to ban or restrict sales of hemp-derived THC and a measure aimed at reining in local property tax growth were among the proposals that did not make the cut. Those proposals fell apart in the final days of the special session, after House and Senate lawmakers were unable to reach agreements. 

Also of note: Lawmakers also did not pass bills intended to improve emergency preparedness and communications in the wake of the deadly July 4-5 floods; shield certain law enforcement files from public disclosure; and bar local governments from hiring outside lobbyists. 

The governor can call a special session at any time; however, legislative leaders indicated they did not expect to return to Austin to tackle the remaining agenda items.

State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, will be officially named the sole finalist for the position of chancellor and CEO for the Texas Tech University System at a Sept. 4 board of regents meeting, according to the meeting agenda. Creighton will succeed former chancellor Tedd Mitchell, who announced his plans to retire within the year, according to a July 11 news release.

Some context: Creighton was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2014, and serves District 4, which encompasses parts of Montgomery, Harris, Chambers, Jefferson and Galveston counties, according to the district website. During the 89th regular legislative session, Creighton sponsored House Bill 2, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed June 4 and gives public schools $8.5 billion in funding over the next two years.

Quote of note: “I feel very blessed to have been considered for the role of chancellor,” Creighton said via X. “There is no greater purpose I would consider than working to make generational changes that transform the lives of young Texans for decades to come.”